Dividing SEC Opening Week into Three Categories

Where does your team's opening game fall?

Arkansas Razorbacks wide receiver Treylon Burks (16) runs through a tackle against Arkansas-Pine Bluff at War Memorial Stadium. / Nelson Chenault-USA TODAY Sports

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – With the television schedules out for Week 1 of the SEC slate, it's worth looking at the overall calendar to get a feel for what will be worth fans' time as they strive to stay indoors in the sweltering heat of August.

🏈 @ESPNCFB reveals marquee matchups to kick off the 2024 college football season season!

🔗 https://t.co/IbuENDElWz#SECFB pic.twitter.com/mdW7HJmfHS

— Southeastern Conference (@SEC) May 14, 2024

So, for those who like to make plans extra early or have a need for affirmation or to feel artificially insulted about their teams, here is this year's recommendations for which games are worth everyone’s time when the 2024 season opens.
Games are broken down into three categories:
• Schedule around these games
• Worth taking a glance
• Go do something worthwhile and check the boxscore later

Schedule around these games

Clemson vs. Georgia (neutral site)

This will be the biggest game of the week in the SEC. Georgia will be out to prove it’s worthy of a playoff berth right out the gate and Clemson will look to improve on the ACC’s reputation as a football conference while also taking part in a televised tryout to show what the Tigers can bring to their future home conference.

Carson Beck will be in the midst of a campaign to be First-Team All-American and the leading Heisman candidate from the opening snap. Meanwhile, Dabo Swinney will try to convince America Clemson is still a relevant football power.

The ACC has already indicated in its spring meetings that it must openly campaign for league respect as it mistakenly conflates Florida State being left out of the playoffs with outsiders having a poor view of the league rather than a judgment of how weak the Seminoles looked without their starting quarterback. That will mean a lot is riding on this game, especially for Clemson, despite the playoff expansion.

Notre Dame at Texas A&M

This game will be an early indicator of whether to take the Mike Elko era at Texas A&M serious. This is a win the Aggies need with Texas coming into the league. The program can’t lose ground to the Longhorns now that both schools are on equal footing by being in the SEC. 

America will also be watching to see if the annual effort to somehow shoehorn the Irish into the national championship conversation can be put aside right away. It will be hard for the Aggies to make up for the offensive miracles Bobby Petrino was able to pull off in College Station while fighting through the injuries of pretty much every quarterback who darkened the door last season, but his loss can be balanced by the fact Jimbo Fisher is no longer in town holding things back on that side of the ball.

USC vs. LSU (neutral site)

This one is a must-watch, just not necessarily because of the opponent. Sure, USC provides nice shine on the marquis in its debut as a Big Ten school (that sat on the tongue like an uncoated aspirin), but the biggest reason to tune in is to see whether LSU can be competent on either side of the ball.

Their offense will be without Heisman quarterback Jayden Daniels, No. 6 and No. 23 overall NFL draft picks in wide receivers Malik Nabers and Brian Thomas, Jr., plus offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock. Defensively, former Missouri defensive coordinator Blake Baker will try to reform a defense so bad that a Dan Enos coordinated Razorbacks offense put up 31 points and 426 yards, causing the Tigers to almost lose at night in Baton Rouge to an Arkansas team that finished with four wins.

If Baker can’t find a quick fix, USC quarterback Moss Miller may find himself breaking his own six-touchdown record from last year’s Holiday Bowl. 

Worth taking a glance

UAPB vs. Arkansas (neutral site)

At first glance, this one looks like it should be at the bottom of the list. Arkansas has such little concern about the contest the Hogs were willing to play at 6:30 p.m. on a Thursday to get it out of the way so the team can get back home and start early on Oklahoma State.

The draw certainly isn’t the game itself. As good of a man as Golden Lions head coach Alonzo Hampton happens to be, there’s little he can do to change what’s going to happen. There’s nothing to indicate a reason to believe Arkansas-Pine Bluff can stay within 40 points in the first half. 

However, with there being little competition for the game at a time people will be thirsty for football, it will be worth checking in to see how offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino’s offense looks, how long quarterback Taylen Green plays, how explosive Utah transfer running back Ja’Quinden Jackson will be after having time for his knee to heal, and whether Landon Jackson sets a college record for sacks in a single game. 

It will also be a good first glimpse of freshman running back Braylen Russell, the new linebacking corps, and an opportunity to see whether the promise surprise freshman CJ Brown showed at receiver in the spring can carry over into the season.

Colorado St. at Texas

Colorado State is roughly six points away from being an 8-win team last season and a big part of that is potential All-American wide receiver Tory Horton. Getting a chance to see how the Longhorns’ suspect secondary handles him while also hoping for a chance at one of the few times Arch Manning may get to step onto the field at quarterback this season is about the only reason to watch this one despite the Rams’ potential.

See, 80 degrees is sweltering summer heat in Fort Collins and it’s likely to be around 110 degrees at kickoff in Austin with on-field temperatures around 130 because of how turf fields are typically made in Texas with their heat absorbing black pellets. Colorado State coach Jay Norvell, who can get a little spicy with his rhetoric while inspiring his team, will be more concerned with getting his players out of that heat alive than winning.

Eastern Kentucky at Mississippi State

No one is expecting much out of Mississippi State this season. However, it’s worth checking this one out to see whether Jeff Lebby has enough in his bag as a new coach to at least be pesky throughout the season in the same manner the Arkansas Razorbacks were in Sam Pittman’s first year. 

Lebby looks to remind the SEC what life was like when Dak Prescott roamed the sidelines in Starkville. He wants a quarterback who can push the ball downfield while also being a threat to break off a long run at all times. 

Former Baylor quarterback Blake Shapen appears to be the leader in the clubhouse for that role coming out of spring, but that's not yet a decision Lebby seems fully married to at the moment. Eastern Kentucky got blown out at Cincinnati last year, 66-13, but followed that up by almost knocking off Kentucky in Lexington.

Whether SEC fans get to see a full audition of Bulldogs quarterbacks will depend on which Colonels shows up in Starkville.

Chatanooga at Tennessee

This one is worth hopping in for a few seconds to see if Nico Iamaleava is worth the hype at quarterback. Chattanooga shouldn’t provide a lot of resistance, but whether the Vols’ 2024 leader has chemistry with his receivers will still be evident.

Virginia Tech at Vanderbilt

This one is worth a glance because Vandy is always at its best the first game or two of the season and it’s also one of the sneaky ways the ACC tries to inflate its record against the SEC. If nothing else, future visiting fans can watch to see where the small patch of Commodores fans will be in relation to where their 35,000 fans will fill in the rest of stadium and whether there should still be concerns about parts of FirstBank Stadium (yes, it’s one word) falling off a crane onto them.

Western Kentucky at Alabama

The Hilltoppers were a winning bowl team last season, but the wins they used to get there weren’t impressive and neither was the Old Dominion team they beat in the Bahamas. In the lone legitimate game Western Kentucky played last season, Ohio State obliterated them, 63-10.

People will watch because it’s the first game of the post-Nick Saban era. However, if there is reason to watch for more than a half, Kalen DeBoer might not be in Tuscaloosa the following week.

Go do something worthwhile and check the box score later 

Miami at Florida

For the second year in a row Miami will try to take down one of the worst teams the SEC has to offer so the ACC can use it to tout credibility as a powerful football conference. If this were the 1990s, this would be a huge match-up. However, there’s just not a lot of reason to watch this as Miami is as barely average as a football program as it gets and Florida is a dumpster fire.

The final score is all that is needed in this one as it will make it clear whether Billy Napier will get Chad Morrised in early November or he gets the opportunity to finish the season before the torches and pitchforks crew try to run him out of town.

Old Dominion at South Carolina

Not a lot of inspiration to watch this one other than to see if running back Rahiem “Rocket” Sanders has recovered enough from a knee injury he suffered at Arkansas enough to help Dowell Loggains justify his position as offensive coordinator after this season. Catching the box score should suffice to tell the full story.

Southern Miss at Kentucky

Brock Vandegriff should have an easy beginning to his tenure as starting quarterback in Lexington after transferring from Georgia. If there’s a reason for anyone outside of Kentucky to do anything beyond catch the score on the SEC Network crawl, it will be a sign of bad things to come. 

Murray St. at Missouri

No need to watch this game at all. Look back on Nov. 9 to see what the score was and then wait to see whether Mizzou or Missouri State beat the Racers worse. 

Alabama A&M at Auburn

The Bulldogs got boat-raced by Vanderbilt last year, so no real reason to check this one out. Everyone has already seen Auburn under Hugh Freeze and know the Tigers are much improved, plus Payton Thorne already has a season under his belt at quarterback there.

Temple at Oklahoma

Not a lot to see here either. Temple has a very bad football team, so if this game is within half a hundred, Oklahoma has a lot to worry about heading into its first season of SEC play. Everyone has already seen Jackson Arnold take the field in meaningful play, so the only intrigue is to see how Brent Venables handles not having Jeff Lebby at his side and whether Arnold can develop into the consistent leader he showed in high school.

Furman at Ole Miss

Just catch the Lane Kiffin tweets afterward and wait until the Rebels play a team whose mascot at least 15% of fans can name without looking it up to evaluate how successful all that transfer portal movement turned out in Oxford,

HOGS FEED:

• Hogs fans need to stop making excuses for poor history of success

• Can SEC kicked down road last year in Destin likely to come full circle this year

• Scheduling history shows Arkansas toughest job in SEC

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